


Tenacious Avarice

by multifandommess



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, Greed & Ling can be platonic or romantic, Hints of Lan Fan/Ling, Spoilers, Takes place post-series, for the entire series, so there's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 00:06:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17415158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifandommess/pseuds/multifandommess
Summary: Ling believed that Greed had died in the final battle with Father--and so did Greed, until he found himself regaining consciousness in the back of Ling’s mind three years later. It’s a slow recovery process for the homunculus, who had been reduced to a mere fragment of himself thanks to Father, but Ling is just glad to finally have his friend back.





	Tenacious Avarice

**Author's Note:**

> So about 5 years ago I started writing this fic but never finished it, and then last year I found it buried in my gdocs and wrote an ending scene to finish it up but never posted it, so now it's time to finally toss this online with the rest of my fics lmao
> 
> Tbh the original idea for this fic came just from seeing that adorable official Ling figurine holding a tiny blob Greed lol, my brain took the image and ran with it

 

It was a long three years since the defeat of Father: Ling, Lan Fan, and May had returned to Xing, where Ling had presented the philosopher's stone and claimed his place as emperor. Hardly a day after his coronation, there were already endless conflicts that needed resolving, and Ling quickly found himself in over his head—but this had been what he wanted, and after all the sacrifices that had been made to get him to this point, there was no way that Ling was going to give up because things weren't going as smoothly as he'd naively hoped they would.

" _It's the price of being avaricious,_ " he'd tell Lan Fan with a hollow smile, feeling more like he was trying to convince himself than anyone else—after all, his avarice and his willpower were the two things that allowed him to remain himself, even with Greed and the endless sea of souls of the philosopher's stone in his mind, and it would be a dishonor to Greed for him to let either of those parts of him die. (They were the only things he had left to remind him of his friend—or whatever their odd relationship could be called—after all.)

However, the stress was quickly beginning to take its toll on Ling... and it wasn't just the stress of trying to solve Xing's plethora of problems, either.

"My Lord!"

Ling's body was hunched over as he gripped his bedsheets tightly in his trembling hands, his forehead beaded with sweat and his eyes open wide as he tried to steady his breathing. "I... I-I'm fine, don't worry," he said after a moment, finding Lan Fan standing by his bedside in the darkness of his private chambers—for her to be in here must mean.... "Sorry... it seems that I don't have much control of my vocal chords in my sleep," he said with a wry, humorless smile. "It was just the same dream; sorry for worrying you."

"My Lord... you shouldn't let the death of that monster affect your h—"

"Lan Fan." Ling's tone was clipped, his expression instantly darkening—he had told her time and time again that Greed was no monster... he was their _friend_ ; hell, he was the reason why they were able to beat Father! He saved Amestris, and quite possibly the entire world by extension—how could she still call him a monster after that?

"... My apologies, my Lord." Lan Fan's expression became unreadable, as it seemed to do more and more often recently. "I spoke out of line."

Ling let out a quiet sigh, his body finally starting to unwind a bit as the nightmare (or rather, the memory) faded to the back of his mind. "No, it's alright—I shouldn't have snapped like that."

Lan Fan gave no response to that, nor did her expression change, so Ling waved her off and laid back down with another quiet, drawn-out sigh. "You can go, I'm fine now."

"... As my Lord wishes," she replied, silently slipping out of the room without another word.

Part of him felt guilty—he was snapping at Lan Fan more and more recently, especially when the subject of Greed was brought up (whether directly or indirectly)—but at the same time, he expected better of her... she knew that Greed was a touchy subject for him, and she could at least _try_ to be a bit more sympathetic towards him when he had these nightmares....

Ling let out a quiet noise of frustration, covering his eyes with his arm. _I'm sure I would have an easier time stopping myself from snapping at her if I could just have a single night of rest... I don't know how much more of this my body—and mind—can take._

He knew it was bad, and Lan Fan had warned him about it, but he'd been too blind to see... he'd grown dependent on Greed. They'd only been together for a relatively short time (what's a few months with someone in your head to fifteen years with no one in your head but yourself?), and their relationship had been rocky at first to say the least, but... well, Greed—in a twisted sort of way—gave him strength and fueled his ambition, pushing him to broaden his horizons and teaching him (for better or for worse) to settle for nothing but the best and to obtain whatever he wanted no matter what.

_Ruler of the whole world... man, he'd probably be laughing at how pathetic I am right now—if I can't even rule a single country, then how would I rule the world?_ He chuckled wryly. _Then again, ruling the whole world would be easier with another person rather than by myself, wouldn't it?_

He was sure (or at least, he told himself) that he'd have no problem ruling over Xing if he still had Greed's power, but the fact of the matter was that he _didn't_ have Greed's power—hell, he wasn't even immortal anymore (Lan Fan had stopped him before he could try anything more than giving himself a cut, but the fact that it wouldn't heal as rapidly as it did when Greed was still with him was proof enough).

_I've been needing more sleep and more food, I've been growing fatigued more and more easily... it's like I'm gradually growing weaker instead of stronger._ He smiled hollowly. _Falling to pieces over a homunculus of all things... I really am pathetic._

For what seemed to be the umpteenth time since returning to Xing and becoming the emperor, Ling's thoughts moved to the philosopher's stone sitting in a heavily-guarded room—it was treated as if it were an item from the gods, though no one but he, Lan Fan, and May knew what it really was. It was almost overwhelmingly tempting to go and take the philosopher's stone, to pour it into his bloodstream just as Father had done an eternity ago, but... every time he had such a temptation, it was always killed with the reminder that such a thing wouldn't bring Greed back, no matter how much he wished it would.

_I shouldn't have let go. I never should have let myself let go._ He let out a quiet, bitter laugh. _I told him that he doesn't deserve to call himself Greed if he turned his back on something he wanted, but... I'm no better than he was, now am I? I just stood there and let him die...._

Shaking himself out of his depressed musings (that nightmarish memory always did this to him—he'd be back to normal in the morning, just as he always was), Ling rolled onto his side, waiting for his exhaustion to catch up with him so he could go back to sleep.

* * *

The expression on Ling and Ed's faces as they stared up at him were burned into Greed's memory long after he faded away—and had he been conscious and capable of wondering about anything, he would have wondered how it was possible for anything to be burned into his memory when he'd just been killed. There was a period of silence and darkness, with no feelings, no memories, no anything, before everything began to filter back in bit by bit, starting—of course—with those two faces.

_Who...?_

They were so familiar, but for what felt like an eternity he was unable to remember their names—nor his own.

_Who am I...? Where am I?_

Darkness was everywhere, as far as the eye could see—unless he couldn't see, or had no eyes; he had no idea what he even looked like, after all. All he could do was sit (float?) in the sea of nothingness, memories trickling back in at an almost agonizingly slow pace: he remembered Ling and Ed's faces, followed by their names and their relations to him; he remembered the fight with Father and his subsequent death (which he wished he would've kept on forgetting—that wasn't exactly a pleasant moment to recall, especially when he had literally no other memories to block it out with); he remembered the fight with Wrath and Fu's subsequent death... everything came back as if he were flipping through a photo album in reverse, until all the pieces of the puzzle were finally in place.

_Greed... right, that's right, I'm Greed the Avaricious—I want everything you could possibly think of: I want money and women, power and sex, status, glory; I demand the finer things in life!_ He found the corners of his mouth twitching upward as his familiar speech ran through his mind, finding it a small, familiar comfort after the disorienting experience of having no identity and no memories. _As for other things that I want... knowing where the hell I am would be a nice start._ He tried to look around, finding that it was difficult for him to move properly. _And **what** the hell I am, for that matter... I mean, this feels almost like—!!_

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he would have slapped himself for not realizing it sooner had he had arms or hands in this (mortifyingly weak and pathetic) form. _Ling! Hey, kid, can you hear me?!_ He waited a moment before letting out an aggravated sigh. _Of course not; that would be too damn easy._

At the very least, though, he was positive that this was Ling's mind—it felt far too familiar to be anywhere else, even if he couldn't hear Ling (and even if Ling couldn't hear him either). _I guess I'm still too weak to communicate with him... damn it, what a pain in the ass. There has to be **some** way of getting him to hear me...._

Greed tried moving around, figuring that he was probably all the way in the back of Ling's mind—if he could figure out where the forefront of Ling's mind is, he could (hopefully) get the idiot prince to notice his presence at the very least. _Though without the philosopher's stone, I don't know if there's even much of me left to sense... there's got to be a small bit of it left inside of me if I'm still alive, but who knows if he's even going to be able to sense such a small bit... damn it, this is really starting to piss me off._

He could feel exhaustion beginning to overwhelm him as he pushed onward, stubbornly ignoring his own weakened state as he tried to at least make Ling aware of him, but it was all to no avail—no matter how hard he tried, it seemed that he could neither hear nor be heard by the idiot prince. Honestly, Greed was beginning to doubt that he was really in Ling's mind at all, and just as he was nearly convinced that he was actually still dead and this was what the afterlife was like (it would be fitting for a being who wanted everything to have absolutely nothing for the rest of eternity, after all), a familiar voice echoed faintly throughout the darkness, and he strained to hear the voice better so he could move towards it.

**_I shouldn't have let go. I never should have let myself let go._ **

Greed came to a stop at that, immediately feeling a stab of guilt—he had no clue how much time had passed, but for him to still feel upset over it....

_Then again, that kid has a bad habit of latching onto every last thing that goes wrong in his life and never letting himself forget...._ The faces of Martel, Roa, Dolcetto, Bido, and everyone else from the Devil's Nest flashed through his mind, and Greed smirked wryly. _He and I are too much alike for our own damn good._

**_I told him that he doesn't deserve to call himself Greed if he turned his back on something he wanted, but... I'm no better than he was, now am I? I just stood there and let him die...._ **

_You damn idiot, there was nothing you could've done!_ Greed cursed as Ling gave no response, finding that it was even more frustrating knowing that he could now hear Ling but Ling couldn't hear him in return. _Damn it Ling, I'm **right here!** Stop being an idiot and notice me!_ He growled, irritated—he wasn't used to being ignored (unintentionally or not), and for once he wanted Ling to hear him for _Ling's_ sake and not his own! (Well, by extension it was for his own sake as well, since he was feeling uncomfortably guilty right now and he just wanted Ling to knock off these stupid, depressed thoughts, but that was beside the point.)

He let out a drawn-out sigh as he heard Ling's thoughts quieting down, signaling that he was drifting off to sleep, and he decided to remain silent for the moment—Ling sounded exhausted from what he could tell, and there was no sense in trying to get the prince to hear him only to end up disturbing his sleep.

All he could do now was wait....

* * *

Ling let out a quiet sigh, his expression remaining completely impassive as he half-listened to the argument being presented to him—normally he would at least attempt to be more alert, but in the past week or so he's had the oddest feeling that something was off, and it was beginning to irritate him that he couldn't figure out the source of the feeling.

_Maybe it's just the lack of sleep getting to me...?_

He certainly wouldn't be surprised if that were the case, considering how he continued seeing the same (or similar) nightmares nearly every night, preventing him from getting a proper night's rest.

Ling was dimly aware of someone addressing him, and he opened his mouth to reply when he blinked in shock, belatedly realizing two things:

1) No one would dare address their emperor as just 'Ling,' and

2) The voice had sounded like it came from his head.

_Wh... am I going crazy now...?_ Ling just barely stopped himself from laughing aloud at that. _All of this lack of sleep must be making me delirious._

" _Dam... Li... ot... de... ious... m... ere... mn it...._ "

Ling's heart caught in his throat, and he struggled to keep his expression impassive even as he retreated into his mind (with a bit more difficulty than he remembered—he was really out of practice), trying and failing not to hope as he looked around for the source of the faint yet familiar voice. _G... Greed...?_

" _Ling?!_ "

Ling's face mentally lit up in a mixture of shock, confusion, and overwhelming relief, and it was all he could do to keep the expression from physically reflecting on his face. _What... where...?!_

Greed scowled, inwardly cursing his weakened state (though a part of him was incredibly relieved to have finally managed to get Ling to hear him). _But I should at least have enough energy to...._ Concentrating, his form began to change until he was able to step forward into Ling's line of vision in his— _their_ —body, smirking slightly at the shocked expression on Ling's face.

He raised an eyebrow as Ling's expression became unreadable and his head dropped, watching as Ling's shoulders shook, his face hidden from view as he looked down—he'd expecting an emotional reaction from Ling, yeah, but this wasn't exactly what he had in mind. " _Uh... kid? Ling? Hello? Anyone home?_ " He gave a tentative smirk, his tone teasing. " _Isn't this the part where you run into my arms, we have our stupidly sappy reunion, and—!!_ "

Ling suddenly swung out, his right fist connecting with Greed's left cheek in a punch that sent Greed stumbling backwards in shock. " _What the fuck?!_ "

_That was for sucker-punching me and making me let go,_ the Xingese prince began in a low tone, anger practically rolling off of him in waves as he met Greed's eyes.

Ling struck out again, his left fist hitting Greed's right cheek, and Greed was only just barely able to stop himself from pulling up his ultimate shield as a reflex to block the hit—he didn't want to accidentally hurt Ling, and from the looks of things he sure as hell deserved whatever punches Ling wanted to throw at him.

_**That** was for lying to me and giving me false hope, even just for a moment._

Ling took a step forward, clearing the space between the two of them, and Greed closed his eyes and braced himself for another punch... that never came.

_And **this**...,_ Ling said quietly, his voice cracking as he pulled the shocked Greed against his chest, his trembling hands gripping the back of Greed's jacket as if he were afraid that he would disappear if he let go. _... This is for finally coming back._

Greed hesitated before awkwardly wrapping his arms around Ling in return and patting his back. " _... Y'know, I was kind of joking about the whole 'running into my arms' thing...._ "

_Oh shut up,_ Ling said, his voice quiet and laced with more emotions than Greed could even identify. _**You're** the one in **my** arms, in case you didn't notice._ Ling's grip on Greed tightened slightly as he continued. _And don't you **dare** do anything like that again, got it?_ Ling finally pulled away, and Greed was momentarily stunned by the expression on his face and the look in his eyes—if Greed had to compare it to anything, he'd say that it was the look of a ruler, one who demanded that their commands be followed, and he would have been impressed had the look not been directed at him. _You constantly said that everything in the world was your possession, right? Well, you're mine just as much as I'm yours, and I don't like anyone taking away what's mine._

Greed knew that he himself had said words like this more than once in his multiple lifetimes, but to hear it from _Ling_ , and directed at _him_... he snickered, the sound quickly growing until he was outright laughing, his head falling to rest on Ling's shoulder as his own shoulders shook with mirth.

Ling blushed slightly in embarrassment, his previous expression falling into one that Greed was much more accustomed to seeing on Ling's face as the prince childishly huffed and pouted. _Why are you laughing?! I was serious!_

" _I know, that's why I was laughing,_ " Greed responded, pulling away to look at Ling with a toothy smirk. " _You've got some guts, kid, thinking you can lay claims on me. Let me tell you something: I am **no one's** possession, got it? Not now, not ever._" Ling opened his mouth to respond, but Greed continued before he could get a single word out. " _But I understand what you're saying, and trust me, I'm done with the whole 'dying' thing._ "

_That's right... how did you even...?_

Greed's smirk faltered into a more sincere look despite his teasing tone as he spoke. " _You were apparently more greedy than I thought—you tore off a small bit of my soul without either of us realizing it before pops forced me out._ "

Ling's breath caught in his throat as he processed what Greed was saying. _So you mean... I really... and this whole time, you were...?_

" _I really only regained consciousness a little while ago, though,_ " Greed admitted. " _Or, well, I **think** it was 'a little while ago,' anyway—hard to keep track of time when you're trying to figure out who, what, and where the hell you are._" Ling sent him a questioning feeling, and Greed continued. " _I didn't have my memories when I came to—but they're back now, and that's all I care about._ "

A realization belatedly hit Ling, and he pulled away to properly look at Greed, who winced slightly as he caught on to where Ling's thoughts were headed. " _Yeah, yeah, I know I'm not normally in this form when I'm not in control... I have my reasons._ "

Ling raised an eyebrow. _Such as...?_ The way Greed seemed to be all too eager to skirt around the subject was just piquing Ling's interest even more, and he leaned forward, an honest, amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips (for the first time in three years, now that he thought about it).

Greed pulled back in response, scowling slightly. " _None of your damn business!_ "

_I think whatever goes on in my mind should be my business~_

" _This is **my** mind, and I say it's none of your business!_"

_It was my mind first, and we can do this all day, Greed~_

" _Don't you have some sort of royal duties to be doing?_ "

At that, Ling (very much belatedly) remembered that he was still at a hearing, and he pulled his focus back to what was going on outside of his mind, relieved to find that the same two people were arguing and (apparently) no one had noticed that he'd been tuning them all out this whole time.

_Nope, I'm good for now~_

Greed let out a quiet " _tch,_ " his form briefly flickering, and in less than a second Ling was by his side, his amused expression replaced with one of worry and fear. _Greed? Greed, what's wrong?!_

" _Calm down kid, I'm fine,_ " Greed assured Ling, smirking and flicking Ling's forehead (while he still had hands with which to do so). " _I told you I wasn't going anywhere and I meant it, so calm down you damn worrywart._ "

Ling frowned, ignoring the flick (though inwardly feeling the slightest bit relieved by Greed's reassurances). _So then what...?_

Greed glanced away, letting out a drawn-out, aggravated sigh. " _... You'd better not laugh, got it? I'm out of energy, so I can't keep up this form for much longer unless I want to pass out._ " He refused to say it aloud, but he was the slightest bit worried about what would happen in that case—he'd never fallen unconscious while in their mind (and unless he was mistaken, neither had Ling), and he had no clue what would happen to him if he did, especially considering how weak he was right now.

Before Ling could question Greed further, his form flickered once more before disappearing entirely, and Ling would have panicked had he not seen the small... _thing_ at his feet in Greed's place.

" _Laugh and I swear I'll kill you,_ " Greed grumbled, refusing to look at Ling—being stuck in such a pathetic form was completely mortifying, but it wasn't _his_ fault that he had hardly any power anymore, damn it!

Ling blinked, staring down at what he assumed was all that was left of Greed's true form, and for a moment he felt guilty upon seeing Greed stuck like this... but that moment was gone as fast as it came, replaced quickly with an impish grin as Ling scooped up the small, blob-like form into his arms, ignoring Greed's sputtering and struggling as he laughed and hugged him. _Aww, you're so cute like this!_

" _God **DAMN** it Ling! Let me go, and I **told** you not to laugh!!_" Belatedly processing what Ling said, he struggled even more, exclaiming, " _And I am **NOT** 'cute'! I am Greed the Avaricious; I am a homunculus; I am this world's future ruler; I am—_"

_—An adorable little blob~_

" _... No one asked for your damn opinion,_ " Greed grumbled, feeling utterly mortified.

_Aww, don't be like that, Greed!_ Ling poked Greed's form with an impish grin, enjoying Greed's embarrassment a bit too much. _You're so soft and squishy and cute like this~ I'm sure the world would **love** to have a ruler like you!_

" _You can be a real ass when you want to be, you know that?_ "

Ling's impish grin widened. _I don't know what you're talking about~_

Greed sighed, giving up for the moment and letting Ling do as he pleased. " _I'm too tired for this shit,_ " he muttered, and instantly all traces of amusement on Ling's face were replaced with worry.

_Sorry... if you're tired, then why don't you get some rest?_

" _How the hell am I supposed to rest like this?_ " Greed questioned, though he could already feel exhaustion washing over him—he hadn't spoken this much since before he'd been killed, and on top of having very little energy to begin with like this, he'd gone and used the majority of it trying to save face (which obviously failed miserably if his current position was anything to go by)... honestly, the only thing that was keeping him conscious at this point was stubbornness and (though he wouldn't admit it) fear of what would happen to his weakened form if he let himself fall unconscious while in Ling's mind.

Ling frowned, poking Greed's cheek. _Just close your eyes and let yourself fall asleep, obviously._ He smiled, petting the soul in his arms (and ignoring said soul's halfhearted protests against the action). _I'll wake you up if anything happens, I promise._

" _Expecting me to fall asleep like this... I'd prefer to at least fall asleep in the arms of a hot chick, damn it._ "

_Too bad, it's me or nothing~_

Greed grumbled something unintelligible, inwardly cursing his own refusal to tell lies—it would be nice to shoot Ling down and tell him that he'd rather have nothing, but he knew (and more irritatingly, _Ling_ apparently knew) that he wouldn't even consider falling asleep without something (or someone) to ground him and make sure he didn't fade away in his sleep. " _Oh just shut up already—and stop that damn petting; do I look like a cat to you?_ "

_Actually you look more like a blob-like creature than a cat!_

Greed glared up at Ling, ignoring the way his vision was beginning to blur. " _Thanks for the astute observation, smartass._ " He inwardly cursed as his eyes began closing of their own volition, the tenseness in his form gradually fading as he began drifting in and out of sleep. " _You'd better wake me up... or I'll kick your ass... got it...?_ "

Ling chuckled quietly. _I will, I give you my word as a man of Xing—and people from Xing always keep their word._ His smile faded slightly into a more serious look as he added, _I won't lose you, not again._

Satisfied, Greed finally allowed himself to properly drift off to sleep, and Ling couldn't help but smile in relief as he watched the homunculus in his arms, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest. For these past three years, all he could think about was how Greed had lost his life because of him—and he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit upset that Pride, one of the worst of the homunculi, had been given a chance at a second life while Greed, who was a genuinely good person (in Ling's eyes, at least) had had not one, but two lifetimes—filled with people that cared about him and that he cared about in turn, in his own way—ripped away from him when those friendships had been all he really wanted... _but he's alive now... he's alive and Father is dead—he can finally start living._ Smiling wryly, he added, _Or, well, living as much as he can while we're sharing a body and ruling over a country, but I'm sure he'll enjoy that more than I do._

Ling pulled his focus back to what was going on outside of his mind, having been half-listening the entire time just to make sure he didn't miss anything important, and he gave his verdict as calmly and wisely as if he'd been paying attention to their petty squabbling the entire time. He felt unbelievably relaxed—especially compared to how tense and irritated he'd been just this morning—and even the most annoying and bothersome of complaints couldn't irritate him (not while he had Greed sleeping in his arms in their mind at least, his hand continuing to run along the homunculus's sleeping form in an action that put his mind at ease just as much as it seemed to for Greed, though the latter would probably never admit it).

_Things are finally starting to look up...._

* * *

There were many things that Lan Fan noticed about Ling:

How he walked and sat differently depending on his mood (his movements and form rigid when he was irritated or upset and trying to hide it, slow and languid when he was relaxed, and when he was happy... well he'd practically be jumping all over the place depending on just how much of a good mood he was in);

How he'd tap just the forefinger of his left hand against a surface when he was growing impatient, and how he'd tap all of his fingers in succession when he was deep in thought;

How the corners his mouth—set in a serious expression—would twitch occasionally, signaling that he was lost in his own little world despite appearing to be paying attention... the list went on.

It was only natural, considering how she'd been Ling's personal bodyguard since they were both children; it was her job to notice every last thing about her young lord (though if she were to be honest with herself, that wasn't the _only_ reason why she paid such close attention to every last detail about him—but she couldn't allow herself to entertain such thoughts, since they would bring nothing good given their positions, which was something that she learned to accept a long time ago).

Once a week, hearings were done in the large audience hall of the palace, and Lan Fan could tell from the moment she reminded Ling of this that the young emperor was not looking forward to sitting through the long hours of mindless bickering that he would have to sort out. His expression remained impassive, of course (as it tended to be more and more often, though Lan Fan knew better than to overstep her boundaries and bring such a thing to the young lord's attention, especially since doing so would no doubt only irritate him further), but Lan Fan didn't need Ling's expression in order to read him like an open book: his shoulders were squared, his body tense and his head facing straight ahead as he made his way to the audience hall, his form and his steps (heel-toe, his legs stiff and his pace brisk but not overly so) clearly conveying his irritation to anyone who made an effort to look beyond his regal appearance... which, for better or worse, no one besides Lan Fan did. She took her place in the shadows, hiding where she could perfectly see the throne and anyone who approached it (and of course, where no one could see her in turn), and she watched as Ling sat down, his back stiff and his expression serious as the first of many people were brought in to have their complaints heard. None of these people interested Lan Fan, though—her focus remained entirely on Ling and their surrounding area, her eyes darting around to catch any suspicious activity before quickly returning to Ling, making sure that no one had tried to attack him in that split-second that her eyes weren't on him. Some might consider it a tiring job, but if this was the only thing that she could do for him, then she would be the best bodyguard that this entire country had to offer.

It was halfway through the hearings that Lan Fan began to notice a subtle change in Ling: his squared shoulders had dropped slightly, his posture infinitesimally less stiff than before, his focus (and entire presence, worryingly enough) seeming to drift in and out.... _He isn't going to pass out, is he?_ That was the only logical conclusion that Lan Fan could come to—after all, Ling had hardly had a single night of peaceful sleep in the past three years (thanks to that monster Greed... taking over Ling's body, forming some sort of perverse bond with him only to go and let himself get killed right before Ling's eyes—Lan Fan would never forgive him for that), and it was honestly a miracle that Ling had managed to continue his duties despite the lack of rest, so it wouldn't be too surprising if his body finally gave out on him... but just because it wouldn't be surprising didn't mean that it would be a good thing—passing out in front of his people would be seen as a weakness, something that other previous contenders for the throne would eagerly latch onto. _I can't let that happen—my Lord worked so hard to get himself to this position; I won't let him lose everything because that monster still plagues his dreams._

She continued to watch Ling carefully, surprise briefly flickering across her face as Ling finally spoke. _His voice... it's...._ It was a subtle change, one that probably no one but herself would ever pick up on, but... he was calm. His voice still held that regal touch, yes, but not out of irritation as it normally did—it was just there for appearance's sake. Try as she might, Lan Fan couldn't understand what it was that could've brought about such a sudden change in the young emperor, and though she wanted to dwell on it further she knew that she couldn't allow herself to slack for even just a second—there were still plenty of people left who were coming into the audience hall, and any one of them could easily attempt to attack Ling while she was distracted over something as silly as Ling's posture and tone subtly changing.

It was only when the audience hall cleared and she was trailing behind Ling back to his private quarters that she allowed herself to resume observing him: his steps were lighter, his form less stiff, his head held just a bit higher, his expression just barely concealing a smile....

_He's happy about something...?_

"My Lord...," Lan Fan began hesitantly, her breath catching in her throat as Ling turned to look at her—his expression was almost painfully similar to the days before he became emperor, before Greed, before they ever traveled to Amestris... it wasn't the look of a hardened emperor, or even the look of a prince—it was the look of her childhood friend, a small smile on his face as he tilted his head slightly in a silent display of confusion.

"What's wrong?"

Lan Fan shook herself out of her shock, hesitating before continuing. "Ah, well... forgive my impertinence, my Lord, but... are you feeling alright?"

Ling's brows furrowed slightly, his smile falling, and just as Lan Fan was about to apologize and beg for forgiveness for having spoken out of line, Ling gestured for her to follow him, his voice quiet but containing traces of the smile he was trying to suppress.

"I shouldn't be surprised that you of all people noticed—you always _were_ able to see right through me no matter what."

They reached Ling's private quarters, and he entered the room before gesturing for Lan Fan to follow, the confused bodyguard obeying the unspoken order and joining Ling in his room (how long had it been since Ling last invited Lan Fan into his room to speak with her? How long had it been since Ling last spoke with Lan Fan to begin with?) before closing the door behind her. "My Lord...?"

Ling sat down on his bed, the years seeming to melt away as he smiled at Lan Fan. "He's back."

Lan Fan's heart dropped. "... You don't mean...?"

Ling's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why aren't you happy? This is a good thing!"

Lan Fan frowned slightly. "My Lord...," she began slowly, still a bit hesitant to speak out of line but at the same time unable to help worrying about Ling's well-being, "I understand that you consider... _him_ to be a friend, but you must remember what exactly he is. Were he to take control of you again—"

Ling held up a hand to stop Lan Fan, a smile still on his face. "I appreciate your concern, but Greed won't do anything, I promise—and besides, he isn't exactly in any condition to be taking control of _anything_ right now." His smile widened in amusement. "Trust me on that."

" _Oh yeah, sure, just rub it in why don't you._ " Greed huffed and squirmed in Ling's (mental) hold.

_Oh, you're awake! Did you sleep well? I wasn't being too loud was I?_

" _If you really must know, yes, I slept fine, and you couldn't keep quiet if you tried, so it doesn't matter._ " Greed weakly glared up at Ling while continuing to struggle in his hold in embarrassment. " _Now are you going to let me go anytime this century?_ "

_Nope~_ Ling hugged Greed closer, giving a quiet mental laugh as the homunculus continued to squirm and kick up a fuss in obvious embarrassment.

" _Damn it Ling...,_ " Greed grumbled, before a thought suddenly hit him. Stopping his squirming, he looked up at Ling seriously, his voice quiet as he spoke. " _Ling... you know I won't disappear if you let go of me, right?_ " Ling's slight flinch was all the answer Greed needed, and he chuckled quietly in response. " _You're such a brat, I swear.... Alright, you can keep holding me if it stops you from freaking out or whatever._ " Not saying that it was giving him just as much peace of mind as it was giving Ling wasn't exactly a lie, right? It was just omission of information, and that didn't go against his code, so at least he could _somewhat_ protect what little bit of pride he had left.

Ling rested his chin on top of Greed's form, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. _... Thanks._ Remembering about Lan Fan, he returned his attention to her, finding that she was watching him with a frown and barely-concealed concern. "Sorry, I'm fine; I was just talking with Greed."

"You need not explain yourself to me, my Lord," Lan Fan replied, her expression briefly flickering with honest surprise as Ling patted the empty space next to him on the bed in an obvious invitation for Lan Fan to sit down next to him. Taking the invitation as an order (it was much easier to bring herself to follow through with his request that way), she obediently sat down, waiting for whatever it was that Ling had to say.

"I owe you an apology—and before you tell me that I don't, I _do_ ," he said quickly, before Lan Fan could get a single word out in response. "I haven't been acting like myself for a long time now, and I've been taking my frustration and exhaustion on you when you didn't deserve it, so... I'm sorry."

Lan Fan felt a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth—despite her wariness regarding Greed returning, she was still relieved to see that the change his return brought about was a positive one, or at least a step in the right direction if nothing else. "I do not believe that you have any need to apologize, my Lord, but if you feel that strongly about offering your apologies then please put your mind at ease—I held nothing against you from the start."

Ling smiled. "You're too good to me, Lan Fan... thank you."

"Think nothing of it, my Lord; I have always been your loyal subject, and that will never change." With that, Lan Fan rose to her feet and gave Ling a bow. "If you will excuse me, my Lord, I will be taking my leave—gossip spreads faster than fire through a forest, and I would rather avoid sullying your image." Her words rang with truth, yet there was a small, blink-and-you'd-miss-it wry smile on her face that Ling sheepishly returned once he figured out what she was hinting at.

"Right, of course... you're excused."

Ling watched as Lan Fan bowed once more before silently slipping out of his room, Greed's voice snapping him out of the slight daze he'd fallen into as his eyes lingered on his bedroom door.

" _Damn, and I didn't think she could get any hotter—you've got yourself a fine woman there!_ "

Ling sputtered, his face flooding with color. **_Greed!_**

" _I know, I know—look, don't touch; I'm not the kind of guy to steal someone else's possession—_ "

_She's not "my" **anything!**_ Pausing for a moment, he sheepishly added, _Well, she's my servant and my bodyguard, so I suppose in that sense she is "mine," but not in... in the way you're talking about!_

" _Oh, so she's up for grabs, then?_ "

Ling snorted in amusement, moving to lay down on his bed. _If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then good luck with that—you're sharing a body with me, remember? If she's off-limits to me, then she's off-limits to you too by extension—and besides, I'm pretty sure you're not exactly her most favorite person._

" _Hey, there hasn't been a single lady that's been able to resist my charm—though she admittedly looks like she'll be a challenge._ "

Ling's lips twitched upward, and he let out a quiet laugh, to which Greed raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. _I almost forgot how greedy you could be._

Greed rolled his eyes. " _News flash, kid: I'm the living incarnation of **greed**. What did you expect me to be, magnanimous or something?_"

Ling laughed again, shaking his head. _No, I just meant... it's been a long time, and I...._ His smile fell into a smaller, yet more heartfelt, one as he continued. _... I missed you._

Greed blinked, taken aback by the blunt admission (though he already knew it to be true—Ling had made that plenty clear by now), before smirking slightly in amusement. " _Pretty sure you're the only one dumb enough to actually miss having a homunculus in your mind—and what happens if the one-armed girl is right, huh?_ " His smirk widened. " _What happens if I'm just going to take control of you once I have enough power—_ "

_The villain role doesn't suit you, you know,_ Ling interrupted, a smile still on his face. _Besides, you should know by now that I'm alright with you having control, and I know that you're alright with me having control too—this is **our** body now, and as greedy as you are, I know that you're alright with sharing at least this much._

Greed's smirk faded into a surprised expression as he looked up at Ling, and upon seeing that Ling honestly meant what he said, he huffed and glanced away in embarrassment—how many times could one damn prince (or emperor, rather) see through him? Honestly, sometimes it seemed like Ling knew him even better than he knew himself....

" _Well I'm definitely not a 'hero' either, so what role **does** 'suit me' then, huh?_" he shot back, refusing to give any response to Ling's second statement.

Ling hummed in thought, mentally resting his chin on top of Greed's form (and smiling slightly as Greed offered no protest save for quiet, half-hearted grumbling). _... Honestly, I don't think you fit any sort of 'role'—not that that's a bad thing, of course; I'm the same way, after all._

Ling smiled wryly, and Greed matched his wry smile with a smirk of his own. " _You mean we're both selfish, greedy assholes who help whichever side has something to offer for us?_ "

_Yep~ Though you cover the 'asshole' part better than I ever could._

" _I'll take that as a compliment, but don't flatter yourself—you've had your moments._ "

_I don't know what you're talking about~_

Greed rolled his eyes but decided to let the subject drop, feeling exhaustion starting to creep up on both him and Ling. " _Alright, enough chatter—time for you to get some sleep; you can't run a country if you're too tired to think straight._ "

_Aww, are you worried about me? I didn't know you cared!_ Ling cooed teasingly, rubbing his cheek against the top of Greed's form.

" _Yeah, you know what I was saying just a second ago about you having your moments? This would be a perfect example of one of them,_ " he replied with a flat look, before continuing. " _And of course I'm worried; this is my body too, and it's got to be in top form for when I can finally start using it again!_ " Reluctantly, Greed added, " _All that aside... it's kind of my fault that you've been having trouble sleeping so... yeah._ "

Ling smiled. _It's all in the past—as long as you're back, that's all that matters._ He moved off of his bed to get changed, slipping out of his formal wear and into his nightclothes before laying back down and pulling the covers over himself. _Are you going to be alright if I go to sleep...?_

" _Nothing's happened to me when you slept for the past few days or so, even with all your nightmares, so I should be fine._ "

Ling's expression fell at the mention of his nightmares. _... So you saw those, huh._

Greed gave a noncommittal noise in response. " _Don't worry about it, kid—just get some sleep._ "

Letting out a quiet sigh, Ling's mental form faded away as he closed his eyes, his exhaustion quickly beginning to catch up with him now that he could get a proper night's rest. _... Thank you for coming back...._

" _You have yourself to thank for that, idiot,_ " Greed responded quietly, feeling Ling's mind relaxing around him until he could see and feel the young emperor's mind settling into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

" _... I'm the one who should thank you, but there's no way I'd say it while you're awake, so... thank you. Sleep well, Ling._ "

Greed closed his eyes, chuckling to himself—he'd say that being in a human's mind had made him soft, but... well, he'd always had a soft spot for humans and chimera alike, even if he never would admit such a thing aloud.

Left with nothing to entertain him but his thoughts, Greed fell quiet as he waited for Ling to awaken.

* * *

The next few weeks were undoubtedly the best few weeks since Ling took his place as emperor of Xing: with Greed back in his mind, he found himself able to sleep better at night and focus better during the day (whenever Greed wasn't distracting him with commentary that made it incredibly difficult to keep a straight face, anyway), and he could feel his mental and physical health both gradually improving.

Greed, however... well, he wasn't getting _worse_ , but at the same time all of the sleep he was getting (it seemed like he was asleep more than he was awake, honestly) didn't seem to be doing much for the weakened homunculus, much to Ling's worry.

" _Hnn... wha...?_ " Greed slowly opened his eyes, blinking blearily before looking up at Ling. " _Sorry kid, guess I fell asleep again...._ "

Ling pulled his focus away from his advisers and into his mind as Greed began to stir, immediately waving off his apology. _It's fine, get all the rest you need!_

At Ling's words, Greed let out a yawn and closed his eyes, haven long given up on (futilely) trying to keep up appearances as he leaned against Ling's chest. " _Don't tempt me, kid—at this rate, I'm going to keep sleeping until next century,_ " Under his breath, he muttered, " _No thanks to you._ "

_What do you mean?_ Ling looked down at Greed in confusion, absentmindedly petting him.

" _ **That!** You keep—_" Greed cut off with a yawn, his voice fading to an embarrassed grumble. " _You keep doing shit like that._ "

An impish smile tugged at the corners of Ling's lips as he realized what Greed was saying, and he continued petting Greed as he chirped, _I don't know what you're talking about~_

Greed grumbled a few choice words under his breath but let Ling do as he pleased, feeling himself comfortably fading in and out of consciousness.

Ling turned his attention back to his advisers, relieved to find that they hadn't noticed him not paying attention.

When Greed woke up again, Ling was heading back to his room, and he kept quiet until Ling had gotten settled down, quietly musing to himself in the meantime. " _... Ling?_ "

_Hm? What's wrong, Greed?_

" _No, nothing's wrong, but... I was thinking, and...._ " Greed hesitated, part of him unwilling to voice his thought but a larger part of him worrying that he wouldn't be able to recover otherwise. " _Do you still have that philosopher's stone?_ "

Ling didn't even need Greed to explain himself—after all, he'd already had the same thought (though in a slightly different context at the time). _Do you think it would help?_

" _Dunno—for all I know, your body could reject the stone, or it could be incompatible with... well, with whatever's holding me together right now, or it could overwhelm either of us completely... but I have a feeling that it's the only thing that might at least **possibly** help me recover... though maybe just a portion of the stone would be better than the entire thing, so it wouldn't be **completely** overwhelming...,_" he mused, hardly even aware that he was still voicing his thoughts aloud.

Ling nodded and left his room without the slightest bit of hesitance, despite Greed's worries as he realized what Ling was doing.

" _Hey, look, you don't **have** to do this, alright? It was just a thought—_"

_I want to help you recover, and I'll do whatever I can to make it happen,_ Ling thought resolutely, not even sparing a glance backwards as he spoke to Lan Fan, who he knew was trailing after him silently. "Make sure that no one disturbs me no matter what—and that means you too."

"My Lord, you're not going to— _My Lord!_ "

Ling entered the room and locked the door behind him despite Lan Fan's protests, walking towards the small glass vial in the center of the room with a determined expression.

" _Ling... are you **sure** you're alright with doing this...?_"

_Positive._

Ling took a knife out of his robes—he needed a form of protection against assassins on the off chance that Lan Fan wouldn't be able to get to him in time, after all—and made a cut on his cheek, a brief, wry smile flitting across his face as he poured a small bit of the philosopher's stone onto his hand before putting the vial down. _Just like old times, huh? Well, here we go!_ Before he could get cold feet, he dropped the philosopher's stone into his cut.

Though it was only a small portion of the full stone, the pain was still enough to bring him to his knees almost immediately as he choked out a pained cry, his body convulsing as he fought to stop his body from rejecting the stone.

Greed was unprepared for the swarm of souls suddenly beginning to flood Ling's mind, but his shock quickly gave way to his own avarice as he felt the power flowing into him—and as was typical of his avarice, this _just wasn't enough_.

Ling, as if hearing Greed's desire, shakily reached up despite his pain to pick the vial back up and pour out a slightly larger amount of the philosopher's stone, half of the vial empty by this point as he set it back down.

Realizing too late what Ling was doing, Greed didn't even have a chance to voice a single protest before Ling dropped the larger philosopher's stone piece into his cut, his strangled screams ringing out in the silence of the room. Still, as guilty as Greed felt, he couldn't help but soak up every last bit of power coming from the philosopher's stone, easily overpowering the other faceless spirits until he was able to regain his normal form.

_You're... back to normal... are you feeling better?_

Greed scowled, his guilt doubling as he stared down at Ling's battered, exhausted mental form—he knew that Ling had been in a similar state the first time he'd taken his body, but at that time he'd been enduring it for his people; this time, though.... " _God damn it Ling, you idiot... why the **hell** did you do that?! The first one was... I could've lived with just the first one!_"

_But it wasn't enough, was it?_ Ling shot back, smiling that damned stubborn smile of his. _I wanted to help you, and I always get what I want—there's no way that I would have let something like this get the best of me, so you don't have to worry about me; I'm fine, I promise._

" _I don't know who the hell you're trying to fool,_ " Greed responded with a scowl. " _Get some rest—you're done for the day, right? I'll take over for now._ "

Ling hesitated before nodding with a smile. _I really am fine, but... well, you haven't been able to move around for a while, so you can take control for as long as you want—just be careful not to bring too much attention to yourself._

" _Yeah yeah, I know,_ " Greed waved Ling off, switching with him and immediately groaning and grimacing. _Damn, the stone really did a number on you... you damn idiot prince._

" _Emperor~_ "

_Whatever!_ Greed stood up and stretched, unable to help the toothy grin that stretched across his face. _Aw yeah, Greed is back in business! I forgot how great it felt to actually have a body!_

He made his way over to the door, opening it abruptly and smirking in amusement as he saw Lan Fan jump in response. "Hey there one-armed girl; been a while, huh?"

Lan Fan's expression went from confused, to surprised, to hostile in record time as she glared at Greed. " _You!_ Give the young lord his body back!"

"Woah, woah, calm down!" Greed held up his hands placatingly. "Princey wore himself out from that little stunt he just pulled—"

"Because of you," Lan Fan interjected with no small bit of venom in her tone, and Greed winced and grimaced in response.

" _Yes_ because of me; I'm feeling plenty guilty over that without you rubbing it in, thanks—anyway, like I was saying... he's a bit drained right now, so he said I could take over for as long as I want as long as I don't bring any attention to myself.”

"I don't believe you! You probably stole his body again—"

"Listen here, doll— _I don't lie_ , especially not to ladies." Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere, Greed sighed and moved to run a hand through his hair, frowning in annoyance when his fingers hit the stupid box-crown thing on Ling's head instead.

" _It's not stupid, it's the formal wear for the emperor of Xing—and it's centuries old, so be careful not to knock it off and break it!_ "

_Yeah yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch._ Greed responded distractedly. "Alright, look, you're obviously not going to take my word for it, so I'll switch with Ling and he can tell you himself." _You alright with that, Ling?_

" _Of course! ... Though I wish she would trust you a bit more._ "

_Well, she'll learn soon enough._ Greed mentally smirked. _After all, I'm not going anywhere, so she's going to have to get used to me whether she likes it or not._

Ling switched places with Greed, trying not to grimace as his vision immediately began to swim and his head spun.

" _Idiot, don't push yourself! Just tell her what she needs to hear and get back in here!_ "

"My Lord, are you alright?!" Lan Fan was by Ling's side the second she felt the change in his qi, hovering worriedly and eyeing him with obvious concern. "That... homunculus, Greed... he said that you allowed him to have control, but—"

"I did," Ling replied with a smile. "I took some of the philosopher's stone into my body, and it was... fairly taxing on my body and mind, I guess you could say." He chuckled weakly at that. "So Greed offered to take over and let me rest for a bit—but even if I didn't need to rest, I'd let him take control whenever he wants, because this is just as much his body now as it is mine."

"But... are you certain that you are alright with that, my Lord...?"

Ling nodded, his expression serious. "Absolutely."

Lan Fan hesitated before nodding and taking a step back, her expression impassive. "Then... rest well, my Lord."

Taking that as his cue, Greed switched with Ling, unable to help smirking in amusement as he immediately saw Lan Fan's expression darken in distrust. "Easy there kitten; at this rate, those eyes are going to rip me to shreds before your claws get the chance to."

"Do not refer to me with such... disgusting names," Lan Fan responded in a clipped tone, a scowl briefly flitting across her features before her face returned to a neutral expression.

"Whatever you say, _doll,_ " Greed responded, his smirk widening.

" _Don't tease her too badly, now~_ " Ling chirped from the back of their mind, obviously finding at least a small bit of amusement in seeing Lan Fan's feathers being ruffled.

_I know, I know—besides, I doubt it'd be too great if someone caught the "emperor" talking like that to his bodyguard,_ he responded wryly, taking a step out of the room and looking around. _Alright, so... bedroom. Yeah. That's, uh... this way...? No, wait, maybe that way—shut up Ling, don't laugh at me damn it! This palace is fucking huge! I don't even remember the direction we came from!_

"Come, _my Lord_ ; allow me to _escort_ you to your room," Lan Fan said after a moment of watching Greed wander around, obviously lost—had it not been for the fact that he was in Ling's body (and would be ruining Ling's reputation by wandering around his "own" palace without knowing where his bedroom was), she would have gladly let him get lost and wouldn't have lifted a finger to help... or so she told herself, at least.

Greed blinked in surprise, watching Lan Fan's retreating back dumbly for a moment before quickly catching up with her. "Right, uh... thanks, I guess."

" _My Lord_ has no reason to thank his bodyguard for performing such a simple duty," Lan Fan responded in a clipped tone.

Shrugging, Greed kept pace with Lan Fan, the two of them falling into a tense silence. _Wow, I think she really likes me,_ he thought sarcastically, Ling laughing in response.

" _Don't worry, once she gets to know you I'm sure she'll like you!_ "

_Somehow I feel like it's not going to work out as smoothly as you think it will,_ he responded wryly, coming to a stop in front of a familiar door (oh who the hell was he trying to kid—all the doors looked the same in this damn place) alongside Lan Fan. "So, uh... goodnight?"

"Goodnight," Lan Fan responded in a clipped tone, and Greed took this as his cue to enter the bedroom before things could get any more awkward between the two of them.

* * *

Edward Elric hadn’t expected to be dragged off to Xing by his brother upon returning home from his own travels, yet here he was, trudging through the crowded streets with Alphonse (who, while not as tall as he’d been while stuck as a suit of armor, was still irritatingly taller than Edward--though it did make it easier to keep an eye on him, at least).

Thankfully they had no trouble making their way into the palace despite their obviously foreign appearances: all it took was a mention of their names and they were invited in as honored guests, a perk of having befriended the prince-turned-emperor during their misadventures through Amestris fighting homunculi and searching for the philosopher’s stone.

_And speaking of the prince…._

Edward looked around curiously as he and Alphonse were guided through the ornate hallways towards a private room, where Alphonse had arranged to meet with Ling to discuss political affairs that Edward honestly didn’t have much interest in.

He was just here for the free food… and to check in on some old friends, he supposed.

“Your majesty,” Alphonse greeted politely as they entered the room and approached Ling.

Ling smiled and laughed, waving off Alphonse’s greeting. “Please, none of that. We’re all friends here, right?”

“Hey Ling, been a while,” Edward greeted with a raised hand and a grin. “Glad to see you’re still the same.” With a glance over at the shadows, he added, “Good to see you too, Lan Fan--or at least, that’s what I’d say if I could actually see you over there.”

Lan Fan stepped out into the light, the slightest hint of a smile on her face. “Edward. Alphonse,” she greeted, giving each of them a polite nod.

“Come on, take a seat, take a seat~” Ling ushered the brothers over to the table in the middle of the room, taking a seat and immediately beginning to fill up his plate with some of the food that had been laid out on the table. “Help yourselves!”

“Don’t mind if I do!” Edward grinned as he immediately started helping himself to a large portion of food.

Alphonse sighed softly, shaking his head in amusement before turning his attention back over to Ling with a friendly smile. “So, Ling. How have you been?”

“Yeah, how’s the emperor life treatin’ ya?” Edward added in between stuffing his face.

Ling began eating as well, and between him and Edward, it was quite a sight to see: despite their lean frames, the two could put even the heftiest of adults to shame as they easily inhaled the majority of the food on the table, barely leaving any for Alphonse to add to his own plate.

“It was a bit rocky for a while,” Ling started to answer in between bites of food, his smile widening into a grin as he continued, “but these past few months have been great.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” Edward questioned, both him and Alphonse completely missing the shift in Ling’s expression as his eyes opened and his grin turned into a smirk.

“Because ol’ princey got his roommate back.”

Edward and Alphonse never looked more like twins than when their heads shot up in unison, matching expressions of shock on their face as the looked over at the emperor.

“Is that…?” Alphonse questioned quietly.

“... Greed…?” Edward finished, his eyes wide as he took in everything about the young emperor in front of them--from his posture to his expression to his _voice_ , there was no way Ling could fake something like this, nor would he want to after the traumatic separation the two were forced to go through.

Not to mention that the homunculus mark that appeared on the back of his hand was kind of a dead giveaway as well.

Greed lazily leaned back in his chair, taking a drumstick off of Ling’s plate and taking a bite of it as he spoke. “The one and only. Been a while, runt--and look at you, armor-boy! Guess you finally got your body back, huh? Too bad I missed it.”

“... You…!!”

Edward shot up out of his seat, looking fully ready to punch Greed, and he only stopped when Alphonse grabbed his arm and when Lan Fan stepped forward with a hand on one of her knives.

“You bastard! You just… we thought you were… and you’re just acting like this is completely normal?!”

Greed’s smirk died down, and he waved the half-eaten drumstick in Edward’s direction. “Look, kid. I didn’t exactly expect to wake up in the back of Ling’s mind either, and he and I had a lot of shit to work through these past few months--including this idiot deciding to take some of the philosopher’s stone back into his body to give me back my strength--so _excuse me_ for trying to help him regain some sense of normalcy.”

Edward faltered before huffing and plopping himself back down into his seat. “... You changed, huh,” he muttered after a moment, catching Greed off-guard.

“What?”

Edward cracked a small smile. “You said you’re trying to help Ling regain some sense of normalcy. You’re not doing it for yourself.”

Greed flushed lightly, especially as he could practically _feel_ Ling grinning in their mind. “Don’t get cocky, brat. It _is_ for myself--otherwise I’ll have to put up with Ling being all depressed and shit.”

Alphonse muffled a quiet laugh behind his hand, while Edward’s smile widened into a smug grin. “Yeah, yeah, make all the excuses you want.”

Ling took over before Greed could get too aggravated, his eyes returning to their normal closed look and his smile softening. “I really do owe a lot to Greed, though. I… well, I wasn’t exactly in the best state for these past few years--but when Greed came back, it’s like… like a part of me that was missing finally returned. I finally felt whole again.” He took a bite of the drumstick in his hand, chewing and swallowing before adding with an airy grin, “Or something like that. At the very least, it’s a lot easier running a country with two minds instead of one.”

Ling could hear Greed grumbling in the back of his mind, complaining that he was being too sappy, but beyond the homunculus’s embarrassment he could feel that Greed agreed with his sentiments--the two of them were two halves of a whole, and it was hard to think about them being without one another anymore.

Edward and Alphonse both seemed to agree as they smiled in response.

“Well, I’m glad for you two,” Alphonse replied. “And I can imagine that having Greed with you is a huge help for running the country.”

“Though if Greed’s back, I’m surprised you two aren’t trying to take over the whole world,” Edward added teasingly.

Greed switched with Ling, smirking at Edward. “And who says we’re not already working on it?” he shot back. “But one step at a time. Xing’s admittedly a pretty damn big country, so I’m fine with getting this place fully under my control before moving on to other countries--starting with Amestris.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Edward countered, returning Greed’s smirk with one of his own.

Deciding to try and diffuse the situation before it turned into more of a competition between the two, Alphonse spoke up once more. “You said ‘fully under your control’--so does that mean that there’s still some problems?”

Greed’s smirk immediately faded into an annoyed frown as he let out a sigh. “‘Some problems’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. Honestly, I’ve got no clue how Ling managed for three years without the whole country falling apart--this place is the most self-destructive country I’ve ever seen.”

Ling switched with Greed, frowning in disapproval. “My country is not _self-destructive_. There are still a lot of factions that don’t exactly approve of me as emperor, so of course there’s going to be disputes.”

“ _Still?_ ” Edward frowned.

“People from Xing are very stubborn,” Ling responded with a touch of amusement. “It takes a lot to sway them once they’re convinced of something--in this case, that I am not fit to be emperor.”

“But,” Greed added, switching with Ling once more and smirking, “they’re finally starting to come around now that I’m here. Not that I can blame them; anyone with half a brain would want to be ruled by Greed the Avaricious.”

Edward rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’m sure they’re all praising your name on high.”

“Oh, but on the subject of politics…,” Alphonse interrupted, trying to ease the conversation back on to the subject they were supposed to be discussing.

Greed let out an exaggerated sigh as he leaned back in his seat. “Fine, fine, let’s get on with the boring serious crap.”

Edward sighed and leaned back in his seat as well, and Alphonse took a second to marvel in amusement over how similar the two were before turning his attention to his bag, clearing the table enough to make room for some papers without dirtying them.

“I thought we could start with this trading agreement….”

Greed let Ling take over, the emperor leaning forward with a serious expression as he and Alphonse discussed treaties and agreements, with Greed and Edward both occasionally throwing in their two cents (which were sometimes appreciated, and sometimes met with glances of either amusement or annoyance).

It was only when the sun began to set that Ling rose from his seat, a smile on his face.

“I think we’ve gotten more than enough done for one day, don’t you?” The emperor glanced over his shoulder, wordlessly gesturing for his bodyguard and friend to join him. “Lan Fan, why don’t you show Ed and Al to their rooms so they can get settled in for the night?”

“Of course, my Lord.”

Edward stood up and stretched with a sigh. “Well, that was fun,” he commented sarcastically, earning him another annoyed glance from his brother that he chose to ignore. Instead, he turned to face Ling, grinning and giving him a friendly clap on the shoulder (that Lan Fan was none too appreciative of, though Edward knew if she really objected it that much she could easily chop his arm clean off in the blink of an eye). “But seriously, it’s good to finally see you again-- _both_ of you,” he added, knowing that Greed was still listening even if he wasn’t in control. “I know it’s a bit hard for you to get out now that you’re the emperor and all that, but at least try and keep in touch a bit more, alright? It’s a pain in the ass to have to come all the way here just to see if you’re still around.”

Ling laughed, giving Edward’s arm a light squeeze in return with a friendly smile. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. It’s good to see you and Al as well.”

Alphonse smiled as he watched the two of them, bowing politely to Ling when the emperor glanced over at him. “Thank you for your time today, Ling. It was really great to see you again, and I look forward to talking with you again tomorrow.”

Ling waved Alphonse off once more with a smile still on his face. “Hey, come on now, I told you none of that formal stuff! But it was great to see you again too. Have a good night’s sleep you two, and I’ll see you tomorrow~”

Lan Fan led the brothers out of the room, and Ling watched them go with a smile before beginning to head back to his own chambers.

“ _… It really was pretty good to see them again,_ ” Greed admitted, and Ling laughed softly in response.

_Yeah,_ he agreed. _We really should have contacted them sooner to tell them about you, but--_

“ _I know, you were worried about the message getting intercepted. Gotta keep a low profile and all that._ ”

Ling nodded slightly. _I trust them, so I know they wouldn’t go around telling people that you’re back--_

“ _But it’s everyone else that you don’t trust, I know,_ ” Greed finished his thought once more, letting out an amused huff. “ _You’re too damn protective, you know that?_ ”

_Hey, I lost you once; I’m not going to risk losing you again,_ Ling responded, and Greed couldn’t find it in him to argue with that point.

Instead, Greed merely huffed once more and rolled his eyes, and Ling smiled as he could feel the affection coming off of Greed even without him saying anything.

Ling knew that Greed felt the same way as him, so nothing more needed to be said--they would remain together, two parts of a whole, until the day Ling drew his final breath.


End file.
